1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for configuring a three-dimensional (3D) input device, a method for reconfiguring the 3D input device, a method for recognizing wearing of the 3D input device, and an apparatus thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Korean Patent Publication No. 1998-36079 discloses a glove interface device for inputting digital data, which includes a glove, which compares digital sensors and 3D sensors on fingers, for outputting digital data indicating touch status between fingers, position and rotation of a hand and a processor for detecting information including the touch status between fingers, the position and rotation of the hand based on the digital data received from the glove and providing the detected information to a host computer.
Korean Patent Publication No. 1998-36077 discloses a digital glove input device, which includes a sensor block, placed on the fingers, senses a finger crooking signal generated with respect to a user's finger crooking and detects finger crooking information in response to the finger crooking signal. The digital glove input device also includes a control block which generates a motion control signal based on the detected finger crooking information.
In addition, Japanese Patent Publication No. 1996-272520 discloses glove instruction call-originating equipment, which includes an extension/contraction detecting sensor and a movement recognizing part. The sensor is attached to the finger part, the back part, and the palm part of a glove, and simultaneously inputs signals of respective sensors. The movement recognizing part continuously processes a group of input signal patterns and synthesizes the provided results so as to judge and decide on a certain instruction.
As described above, there have been many studies involving the development of devices for inputting information to a computer using the hands or fingers of a user. Some of these devices have already experienced real life application.
Skill level and method of inputting information through a general keyboard vary with respect to users. Some users may input information through a QWERTY keyboard using only the two index fingers of both hands, or four or six fingers of both hands. Others skilled in the QWERTY keyboard may input information using all the fingers of both hands.
Likewise, the skill level and method for inputting information in 3D space using a hand-attached device vary with respect to users. Therefore, in an input device including ten finger elements for all fingers of both hands, some users may want to use only four or six finger elements of both hands. Some users may be forced to use only several finger elements due to mechanical failures in the rest of the finger elements.
However, there has not been any disclosure of a 3D input device which adaptively self-reconfigures finger elements. It is, thus, required to develop a 3D input device capable of adaptively self-reconfiguring the finger elements, resulting improvement in user convenience. Adaptive self-reconfiguration may be needed in situations in which a user wants to select which finger elements to use or is forced to use only a few of the finger elements due to mechanical failures in the reset of the finger elements.
Adaptive self-reconfiguration may also be needed in situations in which a user wants to deactivate a specific finger element when wearing the 3D input device, so as to change a key array of a keyboard in user or to change a language. Currently, there are no disclosures of technology that can determine whether the user is wearing the finger elements and determine the positions of the finger elements. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, if a sensor X1 attached to a finger element is malfuctioning and could not generate an edge signal, a recognizing unit of the finger element is unable to recognize the finger device. The recognizing unit is designed to sequentially recognize sensors X1, X2, X3, and X4. When the sensor X1 malfunctions, it continuously circulates a loop and then cannot determine whether the user is wearing the finger elements and the positions of the finger elements. Therefore, the 3D input device cannot be entirely used even when only one finger element is malfunctioning.